Labradoodle, dandy

Tonight we went to the library for a talk by prolific local children's author, James Preller. The Girl is a fan of his Jigsaw Jones detective series. The audience was full of similar-aged children, many of them clutching well-thumbed Jigsaw Jones books.

However the book Mr Preller was promoting and reading from this time was really for slightly older children, and all about baseball, so the talk didn't really work for us. That was a shame. Nevertheless we lined up to have a book signed. The Girl had one of her birthday 'pets' with her - the labrador puppy - and it turns out the Preller family have just got themselves a real labrador/poodle puppy, so there was a tiny but nice moment of bonding.

Out-numbered

We were back at the airport once again today, this time saying goodbye to the Man who is off on another business trip. He's due back on Thursday.

Then to the ice-rink for one last skate before it closes for the season. A few friends from school were there, so the Girl skated off happily with them. Meanwhile the Boy trudged miserably round with me wishing he could go faster but not inclined to do much about it. He was equally lack-lustre when we moved on to the swimming pool, and only really cheered up once he got home for a late lunch and a reunion with his numerous train layouts.

We'll Meet Again...

With blue skies and the sun shining on the snow, my parents' last day here was a sparkling one.

We had an appointment at the mall in the morning as the Girl had been looking forward to choosing an early birthday present from her grandparents. Though the item she really, really wanted had been withdrawn from sale because of its high lead content, she seemed pretty happy with these web-world related pets.

Then on to Altamont for lunch in the Home Front Cafe, a WWII-themed diner. It was a very good meal, with hits of the Forties playing in the background.

Rather than go straight home we headed up to Thacher Park for snowy views across Albany, but we didn't stay long as it was extremely cold, and anyway there was packing to be finished...

The final trip of the day was to the airport, where we said our goodbyes to Mum and Dad. The house seemed strangely empty when we got back and there were a few emotional minutes - the Boy in particular was very tearful. Guess we'll just have to get used to our old routine again.

Winter blues

Woke up this morning, found my yard was all covered in snow...

Again. Oh, this endless winter.

Though actually it was quite satisfying to be able to share a good snowstorm with my parents on the last full day of their visit, in a "Didn't I tell you it snowed a lot here?" kind of way. We had 3 or 4 inches all told.

The school bus got through, no problem, but only the Boy got on it because the Girl had been sick yet again. I've decided it's fish sticks that are doing it - they frequently seem to feature in the night-before dinner. The Girl slept it off and was perfectly ok again by mid-morning.

So once the snow eased up we went skating. Dad hadn't skated for twenty years but managed really well. The Girl showed off some of the skills she has picked up in classes which was good to see. Mum decided not to risk breaking a limb just before a long trans-Atlantic flight and watched from the rinkside.

We dropped in at the library on the way home and the Girl stocked up on books and cds, so that was her sorted for the rest of the day. Then we all stayed in and kept warm. Dad read, Mum sewed and I started assembling a quilt-top - a quietly happy afternoon. Winter has its compensations, after all.

Let them eat / kayak

Just got in from a 'date night' with the Man - a movie and a meal, so that was a bit of a rare treat. The film was British: Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day. Lovely sets and costumes, daft plot.

Much of the day was spent with Mum at the shops, namely Flying Geese Fabrics (excellent quilting shop) and L.L.Bean, famous for outdoor pursuits gear and clothing. There were lots of brightly coloured kayaks hanging up. I could quite fancy kayaking. (And for those of you scoffing at the very thought, I'll have you know I'm quite handy on the water. Used to row back in m' college days, don'tcha know. Well, OK, I rowed for a term. Then the captain started expecting us to lift weights and jog to the river at five in the morning in the middle of January, and really there's a limit. But kayaking on a lake on a summer's day - yeah, I could do that.)

Shared views across the water

Today it's Grandma's turn to be guest blogger...

Up early for an appointment at school to be 'shared' by the Girl and the Boy with their classes. We were introduced to the Girl's grade 2 and 3 class and their teacher - they told us their names and their favourite foods which turned out to be a very international selection. We talked about London and showed some pictures of important landmarks, pageantry and also the Queen. One kind child said that I looked like the Queen - a compliment I think 'tho I had just stressed that the Queen was 82 years old! The children made some very sensible observations likening places in London to places they have seen in their own country.

On to the Boy's kindergarten class for a similar meeting. With both classes we played a magic telepathy game which the children enjoyed, but we managed to leave them wondering! Just a little too much magic!

What lovely classes of children they all are - it is very pleasing to see the Boy and Girl so happy and taking part so well with their peers.

For the rest of the day the Grandpa and I drove down the Hudson valley through some old towns to the Vanderbilt Mansion situated in a prime position overlooking the Hudson River - very beautiful. The mansion was very OTT and on the outside looked more like a mausoleum than a favourite home but the surrounding area was magnificent.

By the way Spring has sprung today - temp soared to 53 degrees - just lovely.

Day at the office

I spent most of the day in our home office boringly sifting through the heaps of paperwork and finding places to file it all (much of it in the bin). I know it'll only be a matter of days before every horizontal surface in the house is covered in papers again, but just for the moment it feels good to have brought it under control.

Meanwhile Mum and Dad took a squishy walk at Five Rivers and then went to explore Troy, although unfortunately for them Tuesday seems to be Troy's day off and very little was open.

My parents are going to be 'shared' at school tomorrow morning, and tonight they've been practising a card trick which they plan to perform. The Girl is incensed that no-one will let her in on the 'magic'.

Taxing task

I had a very interesting day out with my parents visiting Franklin Roosevelt's home and Presidential Library. Both are in Hyde Park, about an hour and a half's drive from Albany. FDR and Eleanor Roosevelt were hugely impressive people for all sorts of reasons, and I plan on learning more about Eleanor in particular.

But not tonight. As part of the Man's efforts to complete an impossible tax form we are wading through all the piles of paper that have been quietly accumulating in the months we've been here. One of those thankless tasks that you endlessly put off rather than get on and tackle - then you realise that by ignoring it for so long you've made it so much harder...

Bunny habits

Our garden was visited by the Easter Bunny this morning, and the kids had fun hunting for little chocolate eggs. We then moved on to the house of friends who were having a bit of a party and had kindly invited the whole lot of us, grandparents included, to join them.

It seems like Easter isn't quite the chocfest over here that it is in the UK. The supermarket shelves aren't piled high with over-packaged TV-character-endorsing chocolate eggs - in fact I haven't seen any of those at all. The Easter egg hunt at our friends' house was for plastic eggs. Some were filled with small change, but most were empty. Every child received a modest non-edible prize at the end for completing the challenge. I wouldn't swear that this unchocolatey celebration was typical, mind you, as our hosts happen to be vegans.

Although still bitterly cold, it was very sunny all afternoon and even our indoors-loving children felt tempted to go out and scoot around the block. And for the first time since we moved here we were conscious of there being lots of other kids round-about: playing in their yards, shooting hoops, riding bikes. It's as if they've all been hibernating - much like us, really. There may be more wintery weather to come, but today we definitely saw the first real signs of spring.

Smoke-filled rooms

The Girl woke us early. She was feeling sick - quite like old times. She was pretty poorly all morning, but rallied by lunchtime and now she's fine again.

Meanwhile my Dad, the Man and the Boy went out on a hardware-buying mission and came home with two enormous pieces of chipboard to build the new train track on. That took care of Dad and his grandson for the rest of the afternoon as they tinkered away in the basement.

The Man and I escaped for a walk at Five Rivers (one of the longer trails that we've never persuaded the children to do - good, but rather boggy after all the snow-melt), then when we got home I set out again with Mum to do an all-round-the-neighbourhood walk. So I feel like I've done my exercise for the day.

I learnt this evening that if you heat olive oil for long enough it turns into something like toffee. It also ruins your best frying pan and fills your house with acrid smoke. And another incidental discovery: if your smoke detector doesn't have a battery it won't work.

Boys' Zone

Today's guest blogger is: Grandpa!

At long last the Delaware Avenue Model Railroad shop was open - we had tried 3 times to catch it!

The Boy was faced with an awesome choice - basically between Steam and Diesel powered sets. After due deliberation he went for diesel - "because I already have a (British) steam loco" of course.

The shop man was very helpful and we struck an excellent deal with several important extras thrown in.

All this effort warranted an energy boosting ice cream to generate the horse power needed to get the railroad rolling. Much joy when it ran and even more when the Man solved the electrical problem of the switches (points).

Our day ended with a dramatic Exhibition complete with an introductory lecture by the Boy regarding Safety rules to be observed.

The first day of Spring...

...began here at 1:48 this morning, according to the radio weather forecaster. Could have fooled me. There's no settled snow where we are, I suppose (though there was a brief flurry this afternoon). But it's cold, there are no new leaves anywhere and not a spring bulb to be seen (unless you count the forced ones on sale at the supermarket). In fact the only bona fide sign of spring is the line of luminous inflatable Easter bunnies in someone's yard around the corner.

And yet the natural world still has much to offer, especially in the form of birds. We have a bird feeder outside the front room window and we've been enjoying watching all sorts of visitors to it, mostly unfamiliar to us: tufted titmice, chickadees, junkos, beautiful blue jays (they actually are blue) and ridiculously exotic-looking cardinals. How can a bird be so red? I could sit and watch them all day.

We were invited to school today for 'student-led conferences', during which the Girl and Boy showed us work they have been doing. One of the Girl's recent science projects has been to make a house out of boxes and wire it for lights. We saw some good examples of these, but I regret our daughter's looks like an earthquake has hit it. Apparently she and her working partner have been a bit side-tracked by the interior decor side of things, and have let the actual build slip behind schedule (oops, I'm sounding like Kevin again).

I gather (from my spies) that there's an event for the first year juniors in Linton when the children get to present projects painstakingly created by their parents... Confirm or deny, please!

Get yer skates on!

It doesn't matter how much time we leave for ourselves in the morning, the kids never seem to be ready for the bus. And even when the bus is running a bit late and the children are actually in their boots and coats, with teeth brushed and bags packed, one of them will 'remember' some vital book or toy or need to use the bathroom just as the bus is drawing up outside the house. You turn around ready to shepherd them aboard and - one of them has disappeared!

It's even worse when, like today, I drive them in. Because I don't have to circle the neighbourhood picking up other children our departure time is rather later than than the bus's. All that glorious extra time to waste! We always end up setting off later than planned, for all the same reasons as above. Drives me mad! Still I shouldn't be surprised. In Linton, where we couldn't have lived much closer to school, somehow we always-but-always arrived at, if not after, the very last minute.

The Girl managed to get her skates on more successfully (and literally) this evening at her weekly skating lesson. She did rather well this time, skating on one leg further than anyone else in her group. Bravo!

Tug of love

My parents and I headed up to Saratoga Springs today, where there are still large areas of unmelted snow (all gone from round us now).

We had coffee in the excellent Uncommon Grounds cafe on the Broadway, and later returned there for lunch. Dad explored by himself while Mum and I took in shops selling crafts, wool, clothes, toys, fabric, fancy paper and beads. 'Girly shopping', if I'm honest, and very enjoyable.

This evening the Boy made me read his favourite library book, Scuffy the Tugboat, for the millionth time. It was written in the Forties and tells the tale of a toy boat with big sailing ambitions who, after a lengthy and exciting river trip, ultimately decides he's better off in a bathtub. I'm trying not to ponder too much on how the Boy might be relating this story to his own life.

So, should we spread our wings, see the world? Or is home best after all? Discuss.

Dish of the day

My parents and I decided to head to downtown Albany this morning to take in a few landmarks. The media must have got wind of our coming as they were there in force waiting for us, taking up half the parking with their satellite vans, and cluttering the sidewalk with on-the-spot reporters.


Or maybe they were just there to cover the swearing in of the new State Governor, David Paterson? He's the first black Governor of New York State, and the first blind Governor of any US state. To add to the excitement, Mayor Bloomberg was up from NYC for the occasion, and Hillary Clinton too, hot off the campaign trail. There seems to be much good will towards Governor Paterson, for now at least, after the breathtaking fall from grace of his predecessor.

We didn't get in to see the ceremony, but instead enjoyed a visit to the New York State Museum, sunshine on the Empire State Plaza and the views from the Corning Tower. Then a late lunch at a cafe off Lark Street, Albany's 'bohemian' quarter.

Tonight the Man and I slipped out for a belated wedding anniversary dinner at a local bistro - bracing walk there and back, but a relaxing meal. Thanks to Mum and Dad for babysitting.

Happy sapping

Is the sap rising back in Linton now that Spring is near?

We found out all about maple syrup production today, down at Five Rivers. First, drill a hole (as demonstrated by the Girl on this practice log). Then tap in a spout, called a 'spile'. Collect the sap in a bucket (this can take 24 hours). Then boil the liquid until it has reduced by 40 times.



The sap-collecting season only lasts a couple of weeks and requires the right conditions - below freezing at night, above freezing in the daytime. And as described, the production process is time and labour intensive, so no wonder maple syrup is rather expensive. Worth it, though.







As well as the sugar rush we also enjoyed birdwatching and walking.

Ain't No Sunshine

The Man writes...I was reading the other day about a linguistics Professor who was explaining how in some languages (e.g. Japanese) a double negative is a negative, in others a double negative is usually a positive, but there are no languages where a double positive is a negative. "Yeah, right," said a voice from the back.

Meanwhile we spent much of a cool, grey day at Stuyvesant Plaza, where we enjoyed the cafe, the ice-creamery, and the independent book and toy shops. The kids also got to paint expensive pottery. A mermaid and killer whale to be precise.

Back home, after tea the Boy and the Girl treated parents and grandparents to a Magic/Music/Novelty Act Show, based I think on the format of the Paul Daniels Magic Show in the 1980s. Who said Saturday night variety is dead?

American Pi

In America people tend to put the month before the day when writing dates, making today 3.14. Well I never! (you'll be saying) If those aren't the first three digits of Pi! At one minute before two (three more Pi digits) the school kicked off its Pi Day event. Only, because the school is how it is, the celebrations started three minutes after two - but hey, who's counting?

It was a whole-school 'Math assembly'. The pre-kindergartners sang a version of 'Ten in the Bed', which ended gloriously with the Little One(s) singing - to the tune of 'Whole World in His Hands' - 'I've got the WHOLE mattress to myself!' Then the 2/3s shared some Math jokes. The surreal highlight was the 4/5s' card trick demonstration, conducted in virtual silence on a table tipped away from the audience. It had all the visual impact of a conjuring trick mimed on the radio.

The Boy's K/1 teacher explained how her class had measured the circumferences of a circle with a bit of string, then seen how many times they could measure the diameter with the same bit of string. Turns out that however big the circle, the ratio of diameter to circumference was always the same (well, almost always - but there may have been some string related variables affecting the results): three. 'And a little bit,' piped up Exile #3. She'd evidently been paying more attention than her friend the Boy, who still has no idea what a circumference is, never mind Pi.

Of course, the celebration ended with servings of pie. Neither the Girl nor the Boy eat pie. Goody! We got their slices!

Read all about it

Visited some old haunts today with my parents: Altamont - lovely wool shop; Thacher State Park - views across Albany; and (accidentally because Mum was driving and I'm useless at navigating) Rensselaerville - recent scene of snow-filled boots.

In a cafe in Altamont there was a Times Union newspaper stand with a sign advising us that if we like we can get our Sunday news early: on Saturday! All the news before it's even happened! Now that's service.

This American Life

I'm feeling really sleepy this evening - d'you think jetlag is catching?

I spent the day giving my parents an introduction to our lives out here. We started with some snow flurries in the morning, which I'd laid on specially to demonstrate typical weather.

We had a little tour of school after dropping the kids off there, and I think Mum and Dad liked it. Once the snow had blown over we headed back to the airport to pick up their hire car, and after that we went out for Italian food close to home. Then a brief trip to Walmart, and suddenly the kids were back again, wanting to build train tracks/play on the computer respectively.

The Girl had her skating lesson in the evening. She does not permit us to watch this (though we are allowed to look during the free-skating session that follows). So I chatted with the Exile, there watching his daughter, mainly about the topic of the moment - the downfall of New York State Governor Eliot Spitzer. I imagine even readers in the UK have heard the tawdry tale. It is BIG news round here, I can tell you.

Family reunion

The Man took the day off work today to do a few jobs around the house, though we treated ourselves to an hour's skating at lunchtime. Unfortunately right at the end of the session on the ice I managed to crash myself and twist my knee, so that wasn't great, especially as there was no nice instructor around to praise my falling skills.

Luckily it's my left knee that's sore, and I don't need that leg to drive our automatic car. So I was able to drive to the airport tonight to meet my Mum and Dad. After more than six months we are all glad to see them again, and looking forward to their stay with us.

Out of their comforter zone?

America isn't all that different from the UK, really. But it is just different enough to be quite frustrating sometimes.

I was trying to buy a duvet cover today. Who'd have guessed what a challenge that would be? They do exist, but you have to hunt for them in the darker corners of department stores, where you find there's a choice of two and they turn out to be the wrong size or horrible colours or incredibly expensive, and generally all three of those things. The norm here seems to be to use a 'comforter', which is essentially a duvet quilted into its cover. You are supposed to spread it over a flat sheet so that you are sleeping under the sheet. All that tucking-in nonsense - who needs it? I can just remember that from my childhood (heavy blankets! candlewick bedspreads!), but then suddenly everyone adopted 'continental quilts'. It was around the time that we all started eating yoghurt and pasta and marvelling at colour TV. A long time ago.

Or maybe duvet is just too French for some American tastes. But that's a subject for another blog.

Night at the Museum

Well whaddya know, everyone did have fun!

As we arrived most of the adults were asking each other the question: 'And we chose to do this why, exactly?' But I think we all secretly shared our kids' excitement about this nocturnal adventure.

The museum staff had laid on various activities around a Native American theme. In a star-dome we were taught about Native American astrology; we also visited a replica long house, made arrow-head necklaces and got to handle artefacts. Written down it sounds a bit worthy and dull, but the guides were great and it was all very interactive. The Girl, usually reticent to show enthusiasm in public, stuck her hand up at the end of one of the sessions to tell the guide 'This is amazing! I love it!', and all the other kids spontaneously burst into applause.

On the top floor of the museum is a real working carousel, and as the final event of the night we got to ride on it. Riding the carousel horses is a treat any day, so you can imagine the thrill of sharing the experience with a whole bunch of school friends way past bedtime. Giddy stuff!

The real fun, of course, was just being in the museum at night. It's a modern building, with spacious halls displaying full-scale models, life size dioramas and dinosaur fossils. As we readied ourselves for bed around 11 o'clock, groups of small pyjama-clad children were still tearing about in between the elk and the wigwam and the subway car, clutching their cuddly toys.

Did we get much sleep? No, but that was hardly a surprise, especially as the clocks went forward and deprived us of a whole precious hour. As one of the Boy's classmates put it, 'I didn't know a night could be that short!' The children were madly racing up and down again first thing, within moments of the lights coming on. Meanwhile the poor old parents stumbled blearily around until they could locate the coffee urn.

‘Everyone Will Have Fun’

It seemed such a good idea at the time, back when we signed up at school: a camp-in at the New York State Museum! Cool!

Then the ‘camp-in survival guide’ arrived, and reality dawned. Tonight we will be experiencing

a) 'sleeping’ in bags on the floor with
b) up to 150 other people, most of them
c) kids up way past their bedtimes, and in addition there will be
d) compulsory ‘fun’ (see title, a direct quote from the survival guide).

Any one of the above is enough to strike doom into the heart of this blogger. The things I do to amuse you, dear reader, the things I do…

Brought to books

I was so eager to share our five hour classroom driving experience with you yesterday that I didn't even mention the wonderful Read Across America Day celebrations held at the kids' school earlier in the day. It was pretty much a mini book festival, and I was lucky enough to get to sit in on five excellent events (more were going on elsewhere in the school, it wasn't possible to see everything).

First there was a puppet show, soon followed by a writer, Alexandra Siy talking about the process of devising and creating non-fiction books for children.

Then came a local librarian, an archivist of Young Adult Literature, who introduced the Eighth Graders to some of the latest books for teens. When I was growing up there was hardly anyone writing for 'young adults' (except Paul Zindel, though I seem to be the only English person I know who has even heard of him. And there was 'Catcher in the Rye', I suppose, but I came to that too late). Now there's no end of exciting choices, including one I plan to check out called 'Life as We Knew It' by Susan Beth Pfeffer.

After lunch there was a special assembly, at which we were entertained by a local storyteller who told tall tales about fearsome creatures found in the Adirondaks. And finally the great costume parade around the gym - all the kids in the school, from tiny tots to teens, in their favourite book character outfits. The Girl looked very fetching win her Mandy Hope menagerie costume. The Boy had (thank goodness) had a last minute change of heart about being a steam or diesel engine and was dressed up as Paddiwak, a cat - much more straightforward for his wardrobe mistress to create.

The image that will stay with me longest, though, was of the always elegant and poised headteacher who came to school dressed as Peter Rabbit and kept her rabbit ears on all day.

High school drop-ins

The Man and I went back to school today, for our mandatory five-hour learner driver course.

It was held in a classroom at the local high school, and all but one of our twenty-seven fellow 'students' were aged 16. What a strange time-travelling experience... The teenagers looked at us as if we were aliens, not imagining that we might once have been teenagers ourselves (not that I ever was, to be honest. The no-sense-of-fun thing goes back a long way with me. And come to think of it, strictly speaking they are right, we are actually aliens. Legal ones, of course. But now I'm rambling).

Anyway, it's a very long time since the Man or I have taken a class that opened with a lecture on acceptable classroom behaviour. We all duly behaved ourselves.

The teacher was good, and the hours went by pretty painlessly. A whole hour devoted to why you should wear a seatbelt seemed a bit excessive, but apparently a lot of Americans still disregard the laws on this one. In fact there is still no adult seatbelt law at all in New Hampshire - the 'Live Free or Die' state. Maybe they should change that motto to Live Free and Die.

There was also a long session on DWI (Driving While Intoxicated), where we learnt that on weekends at night one in ten drivers on the road is over the limit, which is rather a sobering statistic. This contributes greatly to the fact that over 50,000 Americans are killed in road accidents every year - that and all the people not wearing seatbelts.

We were finally dismissed at 8:30pm, and headed off to the car-park, where we watched our classmates being collected by their moms and dads as we revved up our engine. Our own kids were in the care of the Exiles - thank you! - so we picked them up and brought them home to bed.

Stream of consciousness

I was having a nightmare that half the house had been eaten by termites. Imagine my relief, then, when I woke up and realised we only had small flood to deal with. Phew!

Have spent too much of the day finding out more than I ever wanted to know about sump pumps, thanks to various websites and a trip to a DIY store. I could probably do a Mastermind specialist question round on the subject now. Go on, throw me a sump pump question!

And other than that I have been nursing a cracking headache all day, so wit, wisdom and even coherent sentences are in limited supply tonight. I shall go and drink something soothing and look forward to pleasant dreams - of bobbing about in a little boat, no doubt, or maybe paddling in a babbling brook.

Science of appliances

We're having a few appliance problems. First, the fabulously named 'Insinkerator' (waste disposal unit) has packed up, which means the kitchen sink keeps getting backed up. Lovely.

And, this rainy evening, we realised that our sump pump hasn't been working and we have a minor flood in our carpeted basement. Ah me. The Man has managed to get the pump going again, but it's now a cause for concern. I do wonder why there's such enthusiasm for basements in this country, given their propensity to flood.

Anyway, what fun to have all these new and exciting problems to worry about!

Advance booking

The Girl has just walked downstairs with a dog in her arms, a cat on her shoulder, and a monkey clutching her leg. She's trying out her costume for the Read Across America Day favourite book character event at school later this week. She's going as Mandy Hope, creature-loving heroine of a million Animal Ark stories. The Boy is struggling to decide which Thomas engine to go as. His latest idea is Diesel 10, so I guess we'll be trying to make an evil mashing claw out of cardboard tubes and cereal boxes.

Meanwhile, pinching an idea from Linton Children's Book Festival, I have been making 'favorite book' mini-posters to go up around school. The children have revealed a wide range of preferences, everything from Green Eggs and Ham to Lord of the Rings and Little House on the Prairie to the Pokemon Handbook.

I bought a couple of sleeping bags today. Why (oh why)? All will be revealed later in the week...

S'no boots

The Girl had left most of her snow gear at school, perhaps under the illusion that this would get her out of a family walk this weekend. Alas for her, we're not that nice.

We found ourselves back at this place, though it was all looking rather different today under many inches of snow. The lake where last time we'd skimmed stones was now just a great expanse of white.

Sad to say, the only member of our party who was properly shod for the conditions was the Boy, and the rest of us just had to get on with the fact that our feet were quickly wet and freezing. (I did have boots on actually, but only the welly kind. They turned themselves into 'snow boots' in the worst possible way - by filling up with snow.)

After a while your feet get so cold that they no longer feel cold, and that's probably the point at which you really need to have arrived back at your car. Fortunately we just had, and so managed to get home again with all our toes still on.

Welcome home; 'nuff sled

The Man made it home safely despite the snow, you'll be pleased to know, turning up at about 1am after a rather skiddy taxi ride from the airport. It's good to have him back.





We celebrated later in the day with some sledding at our local park - or Plunging Headlong Down the Hill of Death, more like. It was enjoyable, in a terrifying kind of way.

The Boy was happy to give me a shove-start, but otherwise the children wanted nothing to do with the experience, thank you very much. They preferred to go and sit in the car and wait until their parents returned to their senses.